US aircraft evacuated from second British base due to Iran threat, WSJ reports

The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that the US military evacuated aircraft from RAF Mildenhall airbase in Britain due to a threat from Iran. This evacuation came weeks after Washington had withdrawn its bombers from RAF Fairford airbase following a suspected Iran-linked security incident. Two US refueling tankers at RAF Mildenhall transferred to Germany earlier, while additional tankers were relocated later in the day.

The exact nature of the threat to RAF Mildenhall is still under review among US officials. The US raised the security level at both RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath to FPCON Charlie, which is the second-highest defensive threat level, indicating a high likelihood of terrorist action. The British Ministry of Defence declined to comment on the international activities of other nations, stating that aircraft and assets move regularly for operational needs.

A US Air Force spokesperson also declined to comment on the specific moves of US assets, noting that aircraft rotate between installations for various reasons. Five men were arrested in September outside RAF Fairford over a security incident, with two more arrested later for allegedly assisting Iranian intelligence. The incident, still largely unexplained, had drawn significant international attention amid heightened concerns about the security implications of the US-Iran war, leading to the withdrawal of US B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham suggested that RAF Fairford's operations might have been directed from Iran, though Tehran's ambassador to Britain denied any involvement, and Iran's Revolutionary Guards said the base and any other launch sites for attacks on Iran were legitimate targets.